Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

The Hu merchant was very enthusiastic, speaking in broken Mandarin that sounded like he was eating mutton skewers.

"How much is this?" Xiao Ran casually picked up a bag of black sesame seeds.

Hu Shangban held up two fingers.

"Two taels of silver."

Xiao Ran weighed the bag in his hand; it contained about a pound of contents. At market prices, two ounces was considered very cheap.

"Then I'll take it."

As he spoke, Xiao Ran handed the merchant two taels of silver, took the black sesame seeds and was about to leave when the merchant, startled, quickly stopped him, gesturing wildly and saying in his off-key Mandarin, "No, no, two taels of silver, one tael of this, this."

Hu Shang pointed anxiously at the black sesame seeds in Xiao Ran's hand, fearing that Xiao Ran would run away with them.

Xiao Ran touched his nose. The price was right. He had thought he had met a sucker who didn't know the price.

However, he did want the black sesame seeds, so he paid the difference and asked, "Do you still have any black sesame seeds?"

The merchant was overjoyed to have received the money.

"Yes, yes, I have plenty more!"

As he spoke, Hu Shang pulled over a large bag next to him and took out several smaller bags from it, one of which was filled with black sesame seeds.

"It's all here. See how much you need." Hu Shang rubbed his hands together, looking at Xiao Ran expectantly.

Xiao Ran did not disappoint him.

"I'll take them all!" I can use them to make glutinous rice balls.

The merchant, Hu, muttered excitedly to himself, then quickly weighed the scales, patting the scale beam and exclaiming, "Look! High up! High up!"

This was to show Xiao Ran and the others that his scales were raised high, indicating that he was giving them a generous amount of weight.

However, Xiao Ran wanted to laugh when he heard the accent of the lamb skewer vendor, so he didn't dare to respond. He suppressed his laughter, paid the money, and left with his men.

After walking a long distance, Li Lizhi smiled and said, "That foreign merchant is quite interesting."

Hearing her say that, Xiao Ran couldn't help but speak up as well.

"Hahaha! His accent is so funny, it sounds like he's talking about lamb skewers. I can't help but laugh whenever I hear him speak."

The little princess's attention was entirely focused on the lively atmosphere around her and the lantern in her hand. She couldn't understand what the merchant was saying, nor did she find anything funny about him.
Seeing Xiao Ran smiling happily, and hearing him mention lamb skewers, the little princess swallowed hard.

"Little Nangjun~Seven~"

Xiao Ran bent down, a smile still in his eyes.

"What does Sizi want to eat?"

The little princess pointed to the location of the foreign merchants behind her.

"Seven Sheep Skewers Again~"

This made Xiao Ran and the others burst into laughter again.

The little princess tilted her head, not understanding why they were laughing again.

"Little Bag~"

Xiao Ran patted the little princess's head.

"Okay, let's eat it when we get back tomorrow, alright?"

The little princess nodded quickly and happily waved her lantern.

The group strolled around the West Market for a while. Xiao Ran even saw several blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners, but he didn't know which country they were from. Xiao Ran bought some seeds from them, but he couldn't identify what kind of seeds they were. He just waited to plant them and see.

He even saw a foreigner selling piglets! And they were white piglets!
There were three piglets in total, I don't know if they were male or female. Judging from what the foreigner said, it seems that their ship had some problems and they were rescued.

Having traveled all the way to Chang'an, in order to save money to go back, they sold everything they could, leaving only these few piglets that no one wanted to buy.

Xiao Ran bought them all.

The market is probably bad, so it's being sold very cheaply.

Upon arriving at the palace, Li Shimin fell silent upon seeing the three bound piglets. "What are these things?" Li Shimin asked, pointing at the piglets.

Xiao Ran said, "Pig, piglet."

Li Shimin remained silent for a long while before finally speaking, "Why did you buy this thing? And why is this pig this color?"

Xiao Ran chuckled, “Hehe, we’re eating black-haired pigs now. There’s not much pork from those pigs, and it’s tough. If you don’t handle it properly, it can have a fishy smell. But these white-skinned pigs are different. After they mate with our black-skinned pigs and are then processed, they taste much better when they grow up.”

"Incited?" Li Shimin asked.

Xiao Ran explained, "It means cutting that thing off."

As he spoke, Xiao Ran made a cutting gesture.

Li Shimin felt a chill run down his spine, and he felt completely unwell.

"you sure?"

Xiao Ran nodded, "Confirmed!"

This was far beyond Li Shimin's comprehension, so he simply waved his hand and ignored it.

"Do whatever you want, I don't care. Oh, and remember to take this white pig with you when you leave."

He certainly didn't want to raise pigs in his palace.

Even if Li Shimin hadn't said anything, Xiao Ran would definitely have taken it anyway. He was in a great mood after being able to buy this white-skinned pig. He took the black sesame seeds and went to find the imperial chef, describing the appearance and preparation of the glutinous rice balls to him.

This thing is very simple; I made it in no time.

Bowls of glutinous rice balls were served on the table.

Xiao Ran took a bite. "The skin is a bit thick, but it's alright."

Li Shimin and the others didn't think so; they just thought it tasted good.

"These glutinous rice balls are soft and chewy, and sweet. They're quite good." Li Shimin was very satisfied.

Li Lizhi and Princess Yuzhang also liked glutinous rice balls, but the filling inside was a bit hot, so they had to be careful when eating them.

The three little princesses and their mother ate with great relish.

Empress Zhangsun smiled gently.

She returned in the morning, but stayed in the palace due to health reasons.

After finishing a bowl of glutinous rice balls, the little princess licked her lips.

"Little Nang-kun~ We'll have seven ducks tomorrow too~"

Xiao Ran nodded, "Okay, if Si Zi wants to eat, then we'll eat."

Although we're out of black sesame seeds, we still have some glutinous rice balls left, so we can just take them with us when we leave.

After finishing the glutinous rice balls, Li Shimin took a liking to the lanterns that Xiao Ran and the others had brought.

"This lamp is nice, I like it." What a subtle hint.

Xiao Ran said helplessly, "Then I'll give this one to Uncle."

Li Shimin was satisfied now, and waved his hand, "Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you. Tell me, what do you want?"

Xiao Ran remembered that the little princess had said she wanted to eat lamb skewers, so he said, "Get me two sheep, and it would be best if there was lamb meat."

Li Shimin rolled his eyes at him, "All you ever think about is food!"

Xiao Ran smiled. He didn't have any grand ambitions. As long as he could eat well and dress well, that was enough for him. Especially since he lacked nothing now, especially money, he had even less desire for anything else.

Despite his words, Li Shimin still ordered two sheep to be slaughtered for Xiao Ran, but there was no beef. In Li Shimin's own words, "I haven't even had any to eat yet!"

Tonight, Xiao Ran and his two siblings, Zhang Dalang and his sister, are sleeping in the palace.

As for Cheng Chumo and Qin Huaidao, they naturally went home, as did Yan Yao and Di Renjie. (End of Chapter)